FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

Good way to drain off excess FF juices too....wish I had incorporated a drain on one end of my wooden one, as my coop is on a slight slant and small bits of the water sits in one corner sometimes. I need to get the sawsall up there and saw me a hole off that corner for better drainage. I had drilled a lot of holes all along the trough but they soon get clogged with feed and wasn't an effective solution.

 

[Leigti]

Perfect. I had already bought gutter and end caps for the coop/run (whenEVER it gets finished ), and this is a great way to set it up.

That is definitely a good idea. I have cinder blocks

 

[Tikkijane]

Thanks for the ideas. But you're talking to somebody who can barely put a nail in the board street I saw this and thought I might try it.

I know some people use vinyl gutters also. I have a total of nine chickens, three younger ones and six older ones. So eventually I'm going to make or get a longer trough type because the dog bowls aren't going to work for much longer. Unless I want to put out about five of them.

I'll tell you what I see happening with that....that would get tipped in about 5 seconds flat with my flock.  Not only that, they'd be kicking bedding into like crazy.  The rain guttering troughs are a quick build....and you don't need a nail but you can use screws and a drill.  Just get a couple of blocks of wood that would bring the trough to the height you want it and screw the gutter right onto them.  Those were the first types of troughs I made for feeding FF to my 54 meaty birds....worked like a charm and took all of a few seconds to make. 

One person just put the PVC or guttering through the holes on cement blocks...didn't have to drive a single nail or screw in a screw.  Pretty genius. 

A lot of places will cut them for you if you ask.

The blocks are a great idea! Mine get moved around when it rains- scoop and then slide under the coops so they aren't getting soaked while they eat.

 

[Leigti]

It's time to move my FF bucket outside. Tired of it sitting in the house. Should I just put the lid on the bucket tight to keep critters out? Or put it loosely enough to let air in but a brick or something on it to keep them out? I might even get really lazy and just move it into the run next to the trough that I will soon make i'm going to do the cinderblock and vinyl gutter idea.

 

[Jensownzoo]

It's time to move my FF bucket outside. Tired of it sitting in the house. Should I just put the lid on the bucket tight to keep critters out? Or put it loosely enough to let air in but a brick or something on it to keep them out? I might even get really lazy and just move it into the run next to the trough that I will soon make i'm going to do the cinderblock and vinyl gutter idea.

I'm about ready to do this too. I plan on cutting a small circle in the lid and attaching screen to it to let air in, but keep the flies out.

 

[redsix]

I'm about ready to do this too. I plan on cutting a small circle in the lid and attaching screen to it to let air in, but keep the flies out.

I use gallon ice cream buckets. I keep the lids on mine all the time. I don't have nay holes in the lids.

 

[bbhorsefly]

If you want the truth I don't see the point fermenting a already good feed/ feed mix and possibly depleting nutrition that they need OR increasing ones they don't need as much of. The other thing I don't see is fermenting feed that is going to be fed to a animal that already ferments its own feed.
Now when these people talk about how great fermented feed is for poultry and they talk about all the "studies" do they talk about the side affects, like that some poultry carry a genetic defect that gives there eggs a fishy smell when there feed is overly fermented?
i.e. when you ferment the feed than the chicken re-ferments the feed in there digestive track.
How about there are some depilation of some vitamins when feed/ foods are fermented?
i.e. vitamin B12 is reduced in some feed ingredients / foods like dairy products when it is fermented. 

As for your chickens gobbling it up eating less and showing signs of better health.
Gobbling up there feed just means there hungry not that it is any better for them.
Eating less like I said before, just means that the feed is higher in caloric energy than before. Chickens eat to fill there caloric need, not to fill there stomach, because something is better tasting or better for them.
Showing signs of better health? What signs are you looking at, feathers, skin color, how about proper body weight or the birds production?

I would be interested to hear theories on chickens eating solely for caloric intake. Why would free range on pasture chickens with dry pellets to choose from CHOOSE the fermented feed? Why do they gobble with gusto fermented and turn their beak up at dry pellets. Same feed, only difference is fermentation, but that's only proof that my chickens are starving or not getting enough calories?

 

[paneubert]

It's time to move my FF bucket outside. Tired of it sitting in the house. Should I just put the lid on the bucket tight to keep critters out? Or put it loosely enough to let air in but a brick or something on it to keep them out?

I took a really small drill bit and drilled a couple holes in my lid. That way I can still have it on tight, but there is the ability for air to escape if the fermenting builds up pressure. My holes are small enough that a fly could not get in. And if one did, I think the acidity of the feed would not make it a welcoming environment for them to lay eggs.

P.S. I have a Gamma Seal Lid on mine. So it screws on and off. If it was a "snap" on type lid, I would not keep it closed between uses. That would be a lot of effort to pry it on and off each day.

 

[Leigti]

I would be interested to hear theories on chickens eating solely for caloric intake. Why would free range on pasture chickens with dry pellets to choose from CHOOSE the fermented feed? Why do they gobble with gusto fermented and turn their beak up at dry pellets. Same feed, only difference is fermentation, but that's only proof that my chickens are starving or not getting enough calories?

I don't think it's an all or none topic. They eat for calorie and Also because they like some foods better than others. They could eat all day long but if you throw down a handful of meal worms they are going to eat them. Wine for you range but they still love getting their FF in the evening. And they eat it all

 

[redsix]

I don't think it's an all or none topic. They eat for calorie and Also because they like some foods better than others. They could eat all day long but if you throw down a handful of meal worms they are going to eat them. Wine for you range but they still love getting their FF in the evening. And they eat it all

I'm convinced that chickens have a pretty good sense of taste and/or smell. They even like the open-pollinated corn that we grow much better than the hybrid whole corn that we have to buy and crack when ours runs out.